Gorillas, orangutans, and corals are among the plants and animals which are sliding closer to extinction.

The Red List of Threatened Species for 2007 names habitat loss, hunting and climate change among the causes.

The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has identified more than 16,000 species threatened with extinction, while prospects have brightened for only one.

The IUCN says there is a lack of political will to tackle the global erosion of nature.

Governments have pledged to stem the loss of species by 2010; but it does not appear to be happening.

The rate of biodiversity loss is increasing

Julia Marton-Lefevre "This year's Red List shows that the invaluable efforts made so far to protect species are not enough," said the organisation's director-general, Julia Marton-Lefevre.

"The rate of biodiversity loss is increasing, and we need to act now to significantly reduce it and stave off this global extinction crisis."

One in three amphibians, one in four mammals, one in eight birds and 70% of plants so far assessed are believed to be at risk of extinction, with human alteration of their habitat the single biggest cause.

Critical list

The tone of this year's Red List is depressingly familiar. Of 41,415 species assessed, 16,306 are threatened with extinction to a greater or lesser degree.

RED LIST DEFINITIONS Extinct - Surveys suggest last known individual has diedCritically Endangered - Extreme high risk of extinction - this some Critically Endangered species are also tagged Possibly ExtinctEndangered - Species at very high risk of extinctionVulnerable - Species at high risk of extinctionNear Threatened - May soon move into above categoriesLeast Concern - Species is widespread and abundantData Deficient - not enough data to assess The main changes from previous assessments include some of the natural world's iconic animals, such as the western lowland gorilla, which moves from the Endangered to the Critically Endangered category.

Numbers have declined by more than 60% over the last 20-25 years.

Forest clearance has allowed hunters access to previously inaccessible areas; and the Ebola virus has followed, wiping out one-third of the total gorilla population in protected areas, and up to 95% in some regions.

Ebola has moved through the western lowland gorilla's rangelands in western central Africa from the southwest to the northeast. If it continues its march, it will reach all the remaining populations within a decade.

The Sumatran orangutan was already Critically Endangered before this assessment, with numbers having fallen by 80% in the last 75 years.

But IUCN has identified new threats to the 7,300 individuals that remain. Forests are being cleared for palm oil plantations, and habitat is being split up by the building of new roads.

Governments know they are going to fail to reach that target

Jean-Christophe Vie In Borneo, home to the second orangutan species, palm oil plantations have expanded 10-fold in a decade, and now take up 27,000 sq km of the island. Illegal logging reduces habitat still further, while another threat comes from hunting for food and the illegal international pet trade.

So fragmented have some parts of the Bornean forest become that some isolated orangutan populations now number less than 50 individuals, which IUCN notes are "apparently not viable in the long term".

Straight to zero

The great apes are perhaps the most charismatic creatures on this year's Red List, but the fact they are in trouble has been known for some years. Perhaps more surprising are some of the new additions.

"This is the first time we've assessed corals, and it's a bit worrying because some of them moved straight from being not assessed to being possibly extinct," said Jean-Christophe Vie, deputy head of IUCN's species programme.

The first formal assessment of corals shows many are at risk "We know that some species were there in years gone by, but now when we do the assessment they are not there. And corals are like the trees in the forest; they build the ecosystem for fish and other animals."

IUCN is now embarking on a complete assessment of coral species, and expects to find that about 30% to 40% are threatened.

The most glaring example of a waterborne creature failed by conservation efforts is probably the baiji, the Yangtze river dolphin, which is categorised as Critically Endangered, Possibly Extinct.

This freshwater species appears to have failed in its bid for survival against the destructive tides of fishing, shipping, pollution, and habitat change in its one native river. Chinese media reported a possible sighting earlier this year, but the IUCN is not convinced; with no confirmed evidence of a living baiji since 2002, they believe its time on Earth may well be over.

If so, it will have become a largely accidental victim of the various forces of human development. Not so the spectacular Banggai cardinalfish; a single decade of hunting for the aquarium trade has brought numbers down by an astonishing 90%.

Last rites for river dolphin Many African vultures are new entrants on this year's list. But birds provide the only notable success, with the colourful Mauritius echo parakeet making it back from Critically Endangered to Endangered.

Intensive conservation work has brought numbers up from about 50 to above 300.

But the gharial, a crocodilian found in the major rivers of India and Nepal, provides a cautionary tale of what can happen when conservation money and effort dry up.

A decade ago, a programme of re-introduction to the wild brought the adult population up from about 180 to nearer 430. Deemed a success, the programme was stopped; numbers are again hovering around 180, and the gharial finds itself once more on the Critically Endangered list.

Climate of distraction

IUCN says that it is not too late for many of these species; that they can be brought back from the brink.

It is something that the world's governments have committed to, vowing in the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity "to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level".

Conservation is not enough "Governments know they are going to fail to reach that target," said Jean-Christophe Vie, "and not just in terms of a few species - the failure is really massive.

"We know that it is possible to reverse the trend, but the causes are so huge and massive and global, and there is still a lack of attention to the crisis that biodiversity faces."

Many in the environmental movement argue that too much money and attention has gone on climate change, with other issues such as biodiversity, clean water and desertification ignored at the political level.

IUCN's assessment is that climate change is important for many Red List species; but it is not the only threat, and not the most important threat.

There are conflicts between addressing the various issues, with biofuels perhaps being the obvious example. Useful they may turn out to be in reducing greenhouse gas emissions; but many conservationists are seriously concerned that the vast swathes of monoculture they will bring spell dire consequences for creatures such as the orangutan.

Something to think about

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.

Margaret Mead

Abuse and humiliation of orangutans stopped?

Good news. From March 29 2010 the use of orangutans in circus-like shows in Malaysia has been officially banned. Let us know at once if you see anyone breaking this law....this animal park was caught doing so by Nature Alert.

SHAME ON MALAYSIA

The government owned Melaka Zoo forces this orangutan to take part in degrading and inhumane shows. Note the lack of hair on this orangutan's arms and lower body.

Information is power, when put to good use.

If you find what you see here to be interesting, do you think some of your friends might also like to know more about orangutans?

Please could you invite as many people as you can to visit this blog and subscribe to the news posts? As you can see and read, orangutans need all the help they can get.

Many thanks.Nature Alert

Nine years secured to a three metre chain. Imagine if you will.

"Mely" enjoying fruit supplied by COP and Nature Alert.

Waiting to be rescued

Under lock and chain for at least nine years.

How governments do deals which wreck environments, people and countries

Highly Recommended reading and available from Amazon

Chained up day and night.

But confiscated and rescued by COP in January 2010.

COP to the rescue

The final moments before being released forever from the heavy chain around its neck.

A helping hand

After maybe nine years of being confined to a wooden crate this orangutan is now on the way to a rescue centre and one day back to the forest.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

What changes the world for the better is the passion of certain individuals, not governments, not big organisations.

Paul Watson
Sea Shepherd

Highly Recommended Book

Available from Amazon and by far the best book ever written on orangutan conservation.

Hall of Shame for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the Palm Oil Industry.

Nothing can prepare one for the sight of the systematic extermination of orangutans by the government of Indonesia.Look at the photos and news articles on these pages in the context of a statement the President made to the media on 10th December 2007.“In the last 35 years about 50,000 orangutans are estimated to have been lost as their habitats shrank. If this continues, this majestic creature will likely face extinction by 2050,” President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said at the launch of an orangutan conservation plan at the climate talks in Bali.“The fate of the orangutan is a subject that goes to the heart of sustainable forests … To save the orangutan we have to save the forest.”Statements like these are most welcome, but unless backed up by action, such words fall on deaf ears within the Ministry of Forestry....who are busy granting licences to cut down the very forests the President says they should protect!

Another palm oil victim - one of tens of thousands - so far.

For a close up of this brutally treated orangutan, please see below.

Mother shot and eaten. Baby beaten and tied to a pole.

The plight of a baby orangutan rescued from a palm oil plantation workers in Borneo has exposed the high price these endangered primates are paying for the production of palm oil. The 2-3 year old female was found hogtied to a pole and had clearly been brutally beaten. Covered in cuts and bruises, she was also severely dehydrated and emaciated after being starved for days or even weeks.

Palm oil kills - no doubt about it.

Villagers protest against palm oil companies.

Tropical forest, home to orangutans etc.

Threatened by palm oil companies.

Saved by COP

Mother murdered by palm oil company

Tortured by palm oil company employees

Rescued and treated by COP, this orangutan has since been released back into a forest.

Palm oil plantation victim

Orphaned by a palm oil company with help from the government of Indonesia.

Indonesia's Alcatraz for orangutans

A living hell for this orangutan.

Guilty of being an orangutan

A prisoner held by the Indonesian government

Shame on the Ministry of Forestry

A life behind bars. Why?

Day after day, 24/7 ..........

A magnificent male orangutan facing life imprisonment behind bars.

Kept prisoner in filth and squalor

Things just go from bad to worse

Solitary confinement .

There can be no excuse for treating an orangutan like this.

Welcome to Indonesia

Where orangutans are incarcerated by the government.

No hope?

Has this orangutan lost the will to live?

Shame on Minister Kaban

Young orangutan in a 1.5 sq. metre cage 24 hours a day and tormented by zoo visitors.

What future do you think this orangutan has?

How much longer can the Indonesian government carry on abusing and killing orangutans?

Born in the wild.

Life behind bars - where the government of Indonesia prefers to see its orangutans.

Dying for help

With their mothers slaughtered these baby orangutans face a life of torment, torture and hunger, thanks to the government of Indonesia.

Torture chambers for orangutans at an Indonesian zoo

These orangutans have been kept like this for nine months. Until Nature Alert and COP protested the cages were left outside in all weathers.

Solitary confinement courtesy of Indonesian zoo

Caged like this 24/7 for nine months, with no end in sight.

When you think you are to busy to help, please could you reflect for a moment on .........

The following extract refers to environmental problems in general. I just hope you find it as thought provoking and relevant to orangutans as I have.

"This is such a shocking and unpalatable fact that most people deny it, or they just don't want to think about it. They believe as individuals, they can do little about it, so push it to the back of their minds. But I can't do that.

When something has to be done, we need to do it. It doesn't matter how big the challenge is or how hard the solution; if I know something is wrong, and I am in a position to help, I will do my best to make it right."Duncan Bannatyne, successful British businessman.

Formerly home to orangutans and other wildlife.

Part of the price we all pay for palm oil.

Can you see the rainforest?

No? That's the way the palm oil companies like to see things.

Begging for food - not for fun.

Reduced to begging for food, this orangutan (one of two) is in a unofficial zoo in West Kalimantan. Their enclosure has nothing but bare earth, no protection from a blisteringly hot sun, a concrete tube to shelter/sleep in and no fresh water to drink.

Bored and hungry - for as long as this orangutans lives

Born to be free. Imprisioned for life.

The COP Rapid Response Team

Their arrival in a remote village often generates a lot of interest. Please see July 2008 Blog page for more details..

Saved by COP

Please see July 2008 Blog page for more details.

Mother killed and her baby tied up like this for six months.

We found her at the home of a family who had bought her from her mothers killer. Please see photo immediately below - she is now safe, rescued by COP with the local Forestry Police.

Safe and sound - now

Saved by The Centre for Orangutan Protection and its sponsors/supporters.

Another palm oil victim

Rescued by COP and The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation

With its mother killed this orangutan's new owner keeps it chained up.

A baby orangutan with nowhere to go. A mother's love replaced with a chain.

How very, very sad.

What hope is there for this orangutan?

In this small crate there really is an orangutan.

Torture takes many different forms when it comes to dealing with orangutans.

Alone and abused.

Yes. There is an orangutan in this cage.

Chained to, rather than living in a tree.

There's no escape.

At a West Borneo amusement park.

Look at the rubbish this orangutan has to live with.

Escape is not an option.

same as picture below.

Yet another victim of logging and/or palm oil.

Alone, malnourished and very sad in a transit centre.

Palm oil companies take everything.

Imagine; this was once a rainforest.

Life imprisonment

Five adult orangutans are crammed into this dark, featureless cage in a zoo. All five began life in the wild.

Orphaned by loggers or palm oil companies - often the same thing.

Missing its mother. Look at her eyes and you have to wonder what she is thinking don't you? STOP PRESS this baby has since died.

A little light refreshment goes a long way.

Water melon was always a firm favourite of the orangutans. In all the differnt locations we never once saw fresh drinking water provided.

A Tasty treat

Everywhere we went we took lots of different fresh fruit to give to the hungry orangutans we always discovered in various locations.

Same location as above.

We provided food and some small branches, and they loved both.

Again, the same location

We hope we made him a little happier than he appears. The lives of these two orangutans must be almost unbearable. We hope to arrange their transfer to a rescue centre soon.

West Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo)

Two young orangutans kept at an amusement park. They were wild born. Mothers killed by loggers.

Rescued last year and now at a rehab. centre with an uncertain future.

This baby saw her mother being killed and eaten.

Lawbreakers

Illegal loggers

The torture of orangutans is seemingly never ending.

With its left arm chained and padlocked to its neck, this orangutan is literally being tortured at an amusement park in West Kalimantan (Borneo)

Awaiting rescue from what was once its home.

With nowhere left to run, this tranquillized orangutan was rescued and moved to another forest.

Apocalypse now - Indonesian style with help from Malaysian companies.

Rescuers looking for orangutans made homeless by a palm oil company. Virgin rainforest recently stood where there is nothing but a few small trees remaining, which by now will also have been cleared away. Nov. 2007

Yet another palm oil victim

With its mother killed, this baby with an injured eye was caged by workers until rescued by WWF Indonesia.

Illegal loggers in action. October 2007

Access to log these trees illegally was gained via a palm oil plantation road. This forest is home to 50 orangutans and palm oil companies want to log it.

The road to ruin - Indonesia style.

Where once stood a magnificent rainforest full of wildlife.

Mother and baby orangutan.

Oil palm companies have killed thousands like these two.

Palm oil victim. Mother killed.

This baby will have seen its mother slain.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, left of the forest, except for its soil.

It's all about money, greed and corruption.

Destruction and desolation as far as the eye can see

So much for Borneo's rainforests - look what palm oil companies have done to them.

They can barely cut down and remove the trees quick enough for their liking.